Security Envelope Project

This series highlights outmoded technology. Using the antique medium of salt printing to create photograms of security envelopes, I investigate the tactile beauty and semiotic frailty of both subject and medium. By deconstructing these common forms, I aim to draw attention to labor and beauty that is typically unseen and ignored.


Security Envelope #1 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #1 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #2 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #2 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #3 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #3 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #4 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #4 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #5 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.



Security Envelope #5 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #6 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #6 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #7 by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.




Security Envelope #7 (detail) by Kate Copeland.
Salt print on handmade linen paper.
16 x 20". 2006. (c) Kate Copeland.

Insect Project

I captured and recorded the marks made by insects’ feet as they moved across a soot-covered plate. In the final photogravures, seen here, each black line corresponds to a single insect footprint.


Insect Project # 5 by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.




Insect Project # 5 (detail) by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.




Insect Project # 14 by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.




Insect Project # 14 (detail) by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.




Insect Project # 7 by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.




Insect Project # 7 (detail) by Kate Copeland. Photogravure on
handmade linen paper. 8 x 10". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland.

Breath Project

I invited people to speak about memories and personal histories in front of a pane of glass, and made photographic positives directly from the vapor of their condensed breath.


Breath Project (Relic #6) by Kate Copeland,
Photographic positive, mounted in front of mirror.
Detail of 9 x 12". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland




Breath Project (Relic #1) by Kate Copeland,
Photographic positive, mounted in front of mirror.
Detail of 9 x 12". 2005. (c) Kate Copeland
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